ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – On a hot, sun-drenched afternoon, the Bonnies (1-0-0) got a late second-half goal from senior midfielder Brett Allen and relied on their defense the rest of the way to defeat the visiting Cleveland State Vikings 1-0 in the season opener for both teams Wednesday at McGraw-Jennings Field.

A Cleveland State (0-1-0) handball at the top of its own box in the 72nd minute resulted in a direct kick, which Allen curved around a wall of Viking defenders and into the upper right-hand corner of the net.

"He has the ability to take over games," Bonnies' head coach Mel Mahler said of Allen, who was issued a yellow card in the 34th minute. "But in doing so he needs to be more composed throughout the match and not let things that go against him or the team distract from his concentration."

Bonnies' netminder David Flynn made five saves for his 15th career shutout, but it was the defense ahead of him that did the majority of the work. That defense, anchored by senior David DiNardo, is something Mahler hopes will sustain itself throughout the season.

"David is the glue that holds it all together," Mahler said of DiNardo, who was converted from a midfielder into a defender just last season. "He reads the game well and he really is the coach on the field; he has the complete respect of his peers."

The Bonnies entered this season with 16 newcomers, including 14 freshmen. With so much youth on a team that lost seven letterwinners, Mahler was pleasantly surprised with how his underclassmen handled the pressure of their first collegiate game.

"At one point we had four freshmen on the field along with a sophomore who didn't play much last year and I thought our team composure was extremely good," Mahler commented.

One of those freshmen was defender Brad Beaumont who flanked DiNardo on his left and was matched up the majority of the match with Cleveland State's best offensive weapon.

"To be honest, he was brilliant," Mahler said of the Ontario native. "It was two big bodies banging, and their guy is a junior who has much more experience than Brad. I thought he composed himself very well."

Beaumont and the Bonnies return to action on Sunday when they head to Pittsburgh, Pa.  to take on the Big East's Pittsburgh Panthers at 1p.m.

Notes: There were a total of 44 fouls in the game, 27 on Cleveland State and 17 on St. Bonaventure … three yellow cards were issued, two to the Bonnies and one to the Vikings…this was the second consecutive year the Bonnies have opened their season against Cleveland State. Last year they suffered a 3-0 defeat in Cleveland.